On August 20, 2014, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Jewell issued an order regarding the department's responsibilities toward Native American tribes, including "supporting tribal sovereignty and self-determination; protecting tribal lands and resources; building partnerships; practicing responsiveness and timeliness; and seeking legal advice to ensure compliance with the trust responsibility." Secretarial Order 3335 is part of the Indian Trust Settlement, also known as the Cobell Settlement, which relates toa dispute about use of funds held in trust by the federal government for leasing Indian land for commercial uses.

Humanitarian Relief Organizations Research Links direct volunteers and donors to organizations that provide assistance during humanitarian crises. See Development Research Links for more research organizations focused on aid.

Writing in USA Today, Janine Davidson assesses the global impact of the MH17 tragedy. She argues that, in order to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, the United States must take a harder line against Russia. This will entail a mix of NATO response, economic sanctions, and international pressure.

The sixth summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries met in Fortaleza, Brazil, on July 15, 2014. The theme of discussions was "Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions" and the declaration detailed progress in establishing the BRICS's New Development Bank, which was first discussed in the 2013 Durban Joint Statement.

For over six decades, police in Taiwan could lock up people they deemed "hooligans" (liumang) for years with at most a cursory review by the courts. This article by Margaret K. Lewis and Jerome A. Cohen discusses the detailed process by which judges, officials, and legislators—spurred by civic groups, lawyers and academics—brought about annulment of the relevant legislation, the Act for Eliminating Liumang.

International cooperation on critical issues such as nuclear nonproliferation, terrorism, and global finance is in decline, finds a new report from the Council on Foreign Relations. U.S. leadership is also faltering in these areas, as well as in preventing armed conflict and slowing climate change.

Group of Seven (G7), which includes leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, met in Brussels on June 4-5, 2014. They released a declaration on commitments to energy security and climate, economy and development and several foreign policy issues, such as the political transition in Ukraine and Russia's actions in the country.

U.S. President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron held a press conference on June 5, 2014, after the G7 meeting in Brussels. They discussed relations with Ukraine and Russia and the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) published this policy paper in June 2014 to provide guidance in prosecuting "various forms of sexual and gender-based crimes — including rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilisation, and other forms of sexual violence — as underlying acts of both crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in international and non-international armed conflicts."

Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe gave the keynote address to the Shangri-La Dialogue (Asia Security Summit) in Singapore on May 30, 2014. He spoke about resolving maritime disputes in the South and East China Seas, strengthening ASEAN and international defense forces, and making military budgets transparent. The conference is organized by International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

The West is threatening another round of sanctions against Russia in an effort to deter meddling in the May 25 presidential elections in Ukraine. The Obama administration and its allies are placing high hopes in the ability of sanctions to sway Russian actions and generally contest Russia's annexation of Crimea and meddling in the Ukraine.

The recently reconstituted G7 is poised to serve as a forum for highly industrialized democracies to coordinate economic, security, and energy policy, but critics say that its membership is outdated, undermining its relevance to global governance.

CFR Experts Guide

The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.

New Council Special Reports

Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.

Koblentz argues that the United States should work with other nuclear-armed states to manage threats to nuclear stability in the near term and establish processes for multilateral arms control efforts over the longer term.

The authors argue that it is essential to begin working now to expand and establish rules and norms governing armed drones, thereby creating standards of behavior that other countries will be more likely to follow.

2014 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2014 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »